Marquez downs Ducati rival in Thailand triumph
MARC Marquez of Honda narrowly beat archrival Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati to win the inaugural MotoGP Thailand at the Chang International Circuit for his seventh win of the season yesterday.
After a tight duel between the championship leaders, Marquez took the lead on the final corner to seal victory, 0.115 seconds ahead of Dovizioso, to extend his championship lead to 77 points.
“In the past I always lost to Ducati’s riders in the last lap, but this time I would give my 100 per cent,” Marquez said.
“It was amazing to win here after a difficult weekend.
“We move one more step to the final dream ( of winning the championship).”
It was the successive second race where Dovizioso led late in the race only to lose in the final stages to Marquez.
“It’s not nice to lose the last corner,” Dovizioso said. “This track isn’t for us. We came here struggling a little bit like we did in February ( winter test). We battled for the victory and we did incredible work. We will continue to improve.”
Townsville’s Jack Miller started the race from 10th on the grid after he displayed impressive pace in practice.
He moved up to seventh early in the race but was ultimately unable to improve on 10th.
Marquez now has 271 points, 77 ahead of Dovizioso with a maximum of 100 available in the final four races of the season, making him a strong favourite to retain his title.
Marquez also made history over the weekend as he became the first rider to climb out of Q1 to claim pole position, the 50th of his stunning career.
The Spaniard delighted his supporters, who sought out pictures with him and wore caps with his number 93.